Looking to get away from my current wooden/glass gun cabinet and get a fire safe. I’ve always like the nostalgia of the cabinet but apartment living idk if I feel comfortable having them in a wood cabinet. I’m currently looking at a Cannon and Liberty both at tractor supply but I’ve noticed they are cheaper than Cannon and Liberty at other stores. Any advice on a safe to store about 3 handguns and 10-12 long guns?
Cannon vs Liberty safes
- Thread starter Axis ii
- Start date
Personally I take fire rating with a grain of salt. Most fires get really really hot and if your in a large structure like an apartment complex, a fire will probably burn for a really really long time. Much longer than what the safe is rated for.
I've always wondered if the best way to get a good sense of fire protection wouldnt be to get several good quality high flow fire sprinkler heads above the safe.
A friend of mines safe went thru a house fire. The metal on the firearms were fine, but the plastic stocked ones all the plastic melted.
He also has some paper documents stored in the safe. They were in excellent looking condition until you touched them. Then they crumbled and turned to ash.
I've always wondered if the best way to get a good sense of fire protection wouldnt be to get several good quality high flow fire sprinkler heads above the safe.
A friend of mines safe went thru a house fire. The metal on the firearms were fine, but the plastic stocked ones all the plastic melted.
He also has some paper documents stored in the safe. They were in excellent looking condition until you touched them. Then they crumbled and turned to ash.
Buy a
Yep a 64 gun Liberty sounds about right, and I’m very serious.
Plus you will want to use the other half of the safe for shelf storage.
I usually figure 1/2 the storage the safe is advertised for. Fire rating is base off sheetrock or something like sheetrock thickness behind the carpet. As stated above it doesn't take a structural fire long to reach the advertised Temps of fire protection. Both are great choices with great customer service
Mark M.
Silver $$ Contributor
The following video is what you can expect from the safes mentioned above.
Do yourself a favor and invest in a REAL safe,
This is what I would suggest,
American Gun Safes & Vault Doors! Affordably Higher Security
Sturdy Gun Safe manufactures gun safes, pistol safes and vault doors sold direct at discounted pricing. Thicker steel, real fireproofing and custom options, for less!
www.sturdysafe.com
This above! if you want to keep your guns etc safe from fire and kids then the cheap box store ones are fine. But if you have burglary concerns then you are just concentrating your valuables in one easy spot with the box store variety for them to pop open like a sardine can. The one above or american security brand types are what you need if theft is a concern. Remember to anchor your safe to concrete and place it under a single level in your house for fire concerns. If your 12 gun safe dosent cost 3k range then it is not secure for burglary.
Look at the door gap on whatever save you buy. If they can't get a crowbar in the gap, they can't prise it open. I have a Granite made Winchester safe I bought from Sam's Club two decades ago. The door gap is about 3mm on all sides. You should consider most safes as a deterrent to the casual opportunistic break-in which is by far the most common. If a burglary crew is after your guns, they are probably going to get them unless you have a bank vault. A battery powered angle grinder with a few cut-off disc will open most safes, but most burglars don't come so equipped.
As for fire protection, they are better than nothing, but they aren't going to provide sustained protection in a roaring house fire. If the fire starts in the opposite end of the house, and the FD gets there quickly, you are probably going to be OK. Otherwise, just make sure you have your guns documented and insured, and check to make sure you have enough coverage.
As for fire protection, they are better than nothing, but they aren't going to provide sustained protection in a roaring house fire. If the fire starts in the opposite end of the house, and the FD gets there quickly, you are probably going to be OK. Otherwise, just make sure you have your guns documented and insured, and check to make sure you have enough coverage.
centershot
Silver $$ Contributor
Some of the above mentioned units are made in China.
rijndael
Silver $$ Contributor
Unless they hear the pop of rounds going off, because you have tons of loaded ammo and/or primers stored near it. Then, they may just let it burn for a bit.
IMO, don't count on a safe offering any fire protection. Get insurance.
Shooter13
Gold $$ Contributor
I'm looking at my second one OR selling some guns! It's not that I have 64 guns in it but if you have competition (or standard) rifles with scopes that takes a LOT of room!
JSH
Gold $$ Contributor
Out of sight, out of mind.
A lock only keeps honest people honest.
Most thieves don’t want to work that hard.
With the new skill saw blades………..they would have been done and hauling stuff off while the two with a pry bar were still working on it.
A safe is a pretty good investment, I wouldn’t get one of the sheet metal locker types.
If it takes 4-5 high school football players to move, it’s a good’n.
A lock only keeps honest people honest.
Most thieves don’t want to work that hard.
With the new skill saw blades………..they would have been done and hauling stuff off while the two with a pry bar were still working on it.
A safe is a pretty good investment, I wouldn’t get one of the sheet metal locker types.
If it takes 4-5 high school football players to move, it’s a good’n.
dc.fireman
Sling & Irons!
A few things:
As mentioned, if the lads hear rounds popping off, they're most likely going to back out, and wait for it to stop. Been there a few times, and it gets interesting when it's a basement fire, with one entrance/exit.
Also, you mentioned "apartment living". Some safe installers won't put the safe on an upper floor, because of the empty weight. As a firefighter, I thank them for this every time we come across a burned up safe in the basement. I have the popular Fatboy model, bolted to the floor in my basement. It is only a protection against kids, amateur thieves, and sunlight.
Most safes are built with sheetrock insulation, and a doorseal made out of a heat expanding gasket called 'Palusol'. It works, but similar to an oven, once it's heated up, the objects inside are heated up as well. 4 hours time means NOTHING in the fire department world, where a full blown house fire can take 2-3 hours of pouring water on it just to bring it 'under control'. A fully involved apartment fire can take several days to put out.
Best advice I can give you is, get a separate insurance rider on your gun collection, and hope you never need to use it.
As mentioned, if the lads hear rounds popping off, they're most likely going to back out, and wait for it to stop. Been there a few times, and it gets interesting when it's a basement fire, with one entrance/exit.
Also, you mentioned "apartment living". Some safe installers won't put the safe on an upper floor, because of the empty weight. As a firefighter, I thank them for this every time we come across a burned up safe in the basement. I have the popular Fatboy model, bolted to the floor in my basement. It is only a protection against kids, amateur thieves, and sunlight.
Most safes are built with sheetrock insulation, and a doorseal made out of a heat expanding gasket called 'Palusol'. It works, but similar to an oven, once it's heated up, the objects inside are heated up as well. 4 hours time means NOTHING in the fire department world, where a full blown house fire can take 2-3 hours of pouring water on it just to bring it 'under control'. A fully involved apartment fire can take several days to put out.
Best advice I can give you is, get a separate insurance rider on your gun collection, and hope you never need to use it.
Attachments
Last edited:
Did you get he answer you we’re looking far
they make gun lockers basically to keep people/young kids from being able to have access to you guns and they make gun safe to protect your gun from thieves
they make gun lockers basically to keep people/young kids from being able to have access to you guns and they make gun safe to protect your gun from thieves
dcraig
Silver $$ Contributor
Get the tallest,,,,,,,biggest one u can find.
Upgrades & Donations
This Forum's expenses are primarily paid by member contributions. You can upgrade your Forum membership in seconds. Gold and Silver members get unlimited FREE classifieds for one year. Gold members can upload custom avatars.
Click Upgrade Membership Button ABOVE to get Gold or Silver Status.
You can also donate any amount, large or small, with the button below. Include your Forum Name in the PayPal Notes field.
To DONATE by CHECK, or make a recurring donation, CLICK HERE to learn how.
Click Upgrade Membership Button ABOVE to get Gold or Silver Status.
You can also donate any amount, large or small, with the button below. Include your Forum Name in the PayPal Notes field.
To DONATE by CHECK, or make a recurring donation, CLICK HERE to learn how.